Krav Maga

[Óttar]

What do you guys here think about Krav Maga (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krav_Maga)? Don't let its origins colour your opinion. How good is it in terms of sheer practicality and effectiveness?

[Baron Samedi]

It's probably the most practical combat art out there.

No kata... No ethics... No bullshit. How to incapacitate your attacker FAST.

They teach it to the Israeli defense forces in like a week or two... Very simple to learn.

[Zephyr]

True. It's effective. However I like a bit of spirituality in a martial art. Aikido is great.

[Eldritch]

In principle it's great, as is the Russian sistema (http://www.systemaspetsnaz.com/).

The important thing is to choose your instructor with care. This stuff attracts lots of wannabes.

[PetiteParisienne]

I took a few Krav classes in Scotland. It's good exercise as well as being an effective form of self defence.

[Dalton Fury]

It seems alright and there are even workouts based off Krav Maga

[Duke]

I observed it and it looks like cat-fight, basically flail your arms towards your opponent as fast as possible :D

[Paluga]

I personally think it's ineffectual. If you want to make good self-defense martial arts then Jujutsu is the best choise.

[Duke]

I personally think it's ineffectual. If you want to make good defense martial arts then Jujutsu is the best choise.

Combat Sambo is also good

[PetiteParisienne]

I personally think it's ineffectual. If you want to make good defense martial arts then Jujutsu is the best choise.

Jujitsu* is very good. I can attest to Krav's effectiveness, though. It's saved my arse.

[ficuscarica]

If you want to be a good fighter do freestyle-wrestling. If you are a good freestyle-wrestler krav-maga, kickboxer, etc will be down on the floor in max. 10 seconds.

[Duke]

If you want to be a good fighter do freestyle-wrestling. If you are a good freestyle-wrestler krav-maga, kickboxer, etc will be down on the floor in max. 10 seconds.

yeah

[Dalton Fury]

I personally think it's ineffectual. If you want to make good self-defense martial arts then Jujutsu is the best choise.


Combat Sambo is also good

Both of these are excellent martial arts :thumbs up

My personal favorite is Muay Thai :D

[Han Cholo]

If you want to be a good fighter:

Train Muay Thai
Train Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
and fight a lot!

Krav Maga is more for reacting to knive attacks, disarming a person or breaking someone's jaw with an AK-47. It's more military stuff. Most KravMaga classes are not really the real deal.

[Sultan Suleiman]

If you want to be a good fighter do freestyle-wrestling. If you are a good freestyle-wrestler krav-maga, kickboxer, etc will be down on the floor in max. 10 seconds.

Surprise Njemački butt sex :D

[Sultan Suleiman]

But I stand for Krav Magas efficiency. Admittedly alone it isn't very good against an opponent who is half way decent, but combine it with some brute strength and few months of training kickboxing, you are pretty much set up for anything which might pose a life threat for as long as you are capable of higher motor functions. :thumb001:

[ficuscarica]

Beating/kicking might look good in a martial arts movie, but it is not the optimal way to fight with a human body. Wrestling and Brazilian Jiu-Jiutsu are much more useful. A wrestler knows how to move and how to avoid being hit. And here comes the problem: If your first punch doesn´t knock him out, he is right at you and will throw you to the ground and then you are dead.

[Paluga]

Beating/kicking might look good in a martial arts movie, but it is not the optimal way to fight with a human body. Wrestling and Brazilian Jiu-Jiutsu are much more useful. A wrestler knows how to move and how to avoid being hit. And here comes the problem: If your first punch doesn´t knock him out, he is right at you and will throw you to the ground and then you are dead.

The point is, that muay thai,kickboxing etc are COMPETITION-sportstyles. Every serious martial arts trainer would never recommend you muay thai for self defense.

[Dalton Fury]

The point is, that muay thai,kickboxing etc are COMPETITION-sportstyles. Every serious martial arts trainer would never recommend you muay thai for self defense.

Muay Thai has worked fine for me in several street altercations with rednecks and feral negro beasts

[Frigga]

Jeet Kun Do is the martial arts style created by Bruce Lee, which Krav Maga is based off of. My husband has trained in Jeet Kun Do, and he says that it's the best style, because it is tuned to the individual fighter, and it plays up on your individual strengths. And it's supposed to be an incredibly effective style for a woman or small boned man, since there's a lot of Wing Chun in it, and that was created by a woman if I am remembering my martial arts history correctly.

[Flintlocke]

The best martial art is Vromoksylo

[Albion]

It's probably the most practical combat art out there.

No kata... No ethics... No bullshit. How to incapacitate your attacker FAST.

They teach it to the Israeli defense forces in like a week or two... Very simple to learn.

Sounds alright, I have wondered about it myself. Its nice to see some martial arts that came out of Europe (Czechia) for a change.
I always lol at its nickname though - Jewjitsu. :D

[Lumi]

As long as it's not Japanese Martial Arts or any other competition fight-in-a-straight-line crap, I'm up for it.
Shoto-Khan was crap. Given, it taught me agility and speed and how to take down an attacker twice my size, it's useless against any real danger. I got lucky.
Krav Maga sounds like the best way to defend against any form of street attack.

[PetiteParisienne]

As long as it's not Japanese Martial Arts or any other competition fight-in-a-straight-line crap, I'm up for it.
Shoto-Khan was crap. Given, it taught me agility and speed and how to take down an attacker twice my size, it's useless against any real danger. I got lucky.
Krav Maga sounds like the best way to defend against any form of street attack.

IKMS (Institute of Krav Maga Scotland) offers great classes all over the country. I attended when I was living in Edinburgh. Good stuff.

[kabeiros]

Pankration is the best martial arts, of course

[Piper]

My two eurocents: Krav Maga is not a martial art but a system to get you rapidly and effectively out of sticky situations. The principle behind it is to surprise and overwhelm a potential threat /aggressor by attacking as viciously as you can instead of defending / dodging. Also, it is not supposed to last long and, if the attack doesn't work...well..tough luck.

The Russian "systema" is BS, I was interested in it and even tried a couple of lessons. Looks impressive but it doesn't really work, unless you already have a strong background in other martial arts, and the "spiritual" and historical aspect are a fraud, basically. Spetsnaz don't train in systema, as systema founders claim, and instead they use sambo - a real, legitimate and effective martial art.

Wing Chun...:D well, I'm not familiar with it, but, from what I've seen, pretty as it may be, has no place in street brawls.

If I'd be a man and martially inclined I'd choose boxing with a little kickboxing or muay thai on the side for self defense:thumb001:

[PetiteParisienne]

My two eurocents: Krav Maga is not a martial art but a system to get you rapidly and effectively out of sticky situations. The principle behind it is to surprise and overwhelm a potential threat /aggressor by attacking as viciously as you can instead of defending / dodging. Also, it is not supposed to last long and, if the attack doesn't work...well..tough luck.

The Russian "systema" is BS, I was interested in it and even tried a couple of lessons. Looks impressive but it doesn't really work, unless you already have a strong background in other martial arts, and the "spiritual" and historical aspect are a fraud, basically. Spetsnaz don't train in systema, as systema founders claim, and instead they use sambo - a real, legitimate and effective martial art.

Wing Chun...:D well, I'm not familiar with it, but, from what I've seen, pretty as it may be, has no place in street brawls.

If I'd be a man and martially inclined I'd choose boxing with a little kickboxing or muay thai on the side for self defense:thumb001:

I agree that Krav is more about survival than discipline. However, its fundamental drive is to stun your attacker for long enough to allow you to get away.

[Aramis]

I am at second level of Krav Maga, and training towards my third. I do it mostly beacuse it's good exercise, and I get to do something productive with my friends.

As for it's efficiencity, it does get you prepared for possible attacks, but just at higher levels. At beginner level it's still worthless imo.
Practiclly, Krav Maga is nothing more but a hundred ways hit another guy in his jewls, and here and there a technique to remove weapons from your opponents grip.

My sensei on the left ;)

http://a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/s720x720/522828_124336601030344_1632198428_n.jpg

http://a6.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/313938_183496088447728_211040097_n.jpg

http://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/255208_183533068444030_239438155_n.jpg

[Piper]

Yeah, it's offense as the best defense. :thumb001:

[Lumi]

My two eurocents: Krav Maga is not a martial art but a system to get you rapidly and effectively out of sticky situations. The principle behind it is to surprise and overwhelm a potential threat /aggressor by attacking as viciously as you can instead of defending / dodging. Also, it is not supposed to last long and, if the attack doesn't work...well..tough luck.

The Russian "systema" is BS, I was interested in it and even tried a couple of lessons. Looks impressive but it doesn't really work, unless you already have a strong background in other martial arts, and the "spiritual" and historical aspect are a fraud, basically. Spetsnaz don't train in systema, as systema founders claim, and instead they use sambo - a real, legitimate and effective martial art.

Wing Chun...:D well, I'm not familiar with it, but, from what I've seen, pretty as it may be, has no place in street brawls.

If I'd be a man and martially inclined I'd choose boxing with a little kickboxing or muay thai on the side for self defense:thumb001:

Wing Chun was designed for women and small-boned men. It taught defence against not only fists and feet, but weapons also.

I recommend that you watch the movie "Ip Man". It's about Grand Master Ip, the man that taught Bruce Lee how to fight.
It's a movie about him during the war when Japan took over China. It illustrates perfectly how effective Wing Chun is against Japanese Martial Arts, and also other forms of fighting and even weapons.

[tato]

I was told by an American friend that it is good first 6 months then becomes boring and no real growth; other martial arts slow first 6 months to improve but then can still grow after 6 months.